Rural Lifestyle on Highway 6

Larry Cleverley & The Iowa DOT

A couple of weeks ago my friend Larry Cleverley received a notice that the Iowa Department of Transportation had decided to re-construct an intersection near Mingo, Iowa.  The change, says the DOT, is necessary to fix a dangerous intersection which is among the top two deadly in the state.  

The DOT will spend millions on the construction and the project will destroy the home and take much of the land which has been in the Cleverely Family for over 80 years.  The action will shut down the organic, fresh, buy local farm.

Cleverley has suggested the Iowa DOT simply install a stoplight at the intersection.  However Scott Dockstader, an engineer with the department has said a stoplight is not practical given the high rate of vehicle speed. He was quoted in the Des Moines Register, "We feel that a stoplight out in a rural area on a 65-mph road would not be safe.  Not as safe as the interchange option we are proposing."

So, the question:  Why wouldn't the DOT gradually reduce the speed limit and install a stoplight?  Seems to work in other parts of the state.  For example I've posted two images of where this seems to work.  Above is a rural stoplight located on Hwy. 175 near Harcourt and below another on Hwy. 69 near Gilbert.  Or...will the Iowa DOT remove those as well and take some-body's farm land?

Update:  Moments ago I had the opportunity to visit with Mr. Dockstader of the DOT.  We had a long discussion regarding "stoplights", "flashing lights", "interchanges" and best ideas.  "The department has been looking at this issue for years", said Dockstader.  "Whatever we do is going to impact someone.  I can tell you that this is the most dangerous intersection in the state and something needs to be done."  He told me that reducing the speed limit would not work (currently 60 mph) because of a lack of enforcement.   And that setting out a stoplight would be contrary to the system the DOT follows.  Here is that link.

I wonder if Jasper County might consider...traffic cameras to better enforce and monitor the area with regard to speed.

There is no projected timeline and Mr. Dockstader tells me it could be several years "at the earliest".

For those of you who would like to get involved here is a petition started by Larry hosted by Change.org.

Please feel free to share.

Food Fights & Michele Payn-Knoper

Last week, on Valentine's Day, a new book about food and farming was released.  "No More Food Fights - Growing A Productive Farm & Food Conversation" by Michele Payn-Knoper attempts to make the connection between eating and producing the food we consume.  It's badly needed.

One hundred years ago over a third of the US population was engaged in agricultural production.  Today less than 2% of us create the food and fiber for America and much of the world.  Forty years ago many of us had a direct connection to the farm. We had family and friends who actually lived on one.  Today we're generations removed.

That disengagement allows for information and misinformation to swirl like a Kansas dust-devil on a hot summer day.  Groups on both sides of the table fight over what is "right" and what is "wrong" with food production.  In the end the consumer is confused, angered and intimidated.

Payn-Knoper offers consumers, farmers. foodies the two sides of production agriculture a real-time look at farming and a real-time look at food.  She asks consumers to get involved with farmers.  Try to understand that there is common ground between folks who love organic and those who don't.  Here is the conversation with Michele.

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It is not a quick read and there's loads of information tucked into the 153 pages.  And, in the end, if you are a "hard core" believer in whatever this book may not alter your belief system.  However, because we all eat it might make sense to understand farms, farmers and food production.  Read it with an open mind.

You can order No More Food Fights here on Amazon.

 

Images from Practical Farmers of Iowa 2013 Conference "Soil to Soul"

The annual conference of Practical Farmers of Iowa was held this past weekend in Ames, Iowa.  Here are several images from the "Soil to Soul" event:

Dr. Andrew Hoiberg and Pete Kaputska from Calcium Products, Inc. talking about OMRI listed SuperCal 98G (lime) and SuperCal SO4 (gypsum) and the benefits of using pelletized products.

During a panel discussion regarding restaurant use of locally grown food and marketing with George Formaro of Gateway Market and Centro, Larry Cleverly of Cleverley Farms and writer/food consultant Jim Duncan or @Foodude on Twitter.

Some of the 450+ attendees during the PFI event in Ames.

Popcorn during the break...yum!

First time attendees/vendors Jessica and Charles from Terra Biotics talking with our friend Sean Skeehan from Blue Gate Farm.

Finally, we had this question for PFI staff member Luke Gran about where Practical Farmers of Iowa saw themselves in relationship to traditional to organic farmers:

 

If you want to connect with us we can do that on our Twitter Stream @RuralLifeRadio. Thanks for coming by!

Farm Crawl 2012 - Coyote Run Farm

Each fall some folks in rural Southern Iowa put together Farm Crawl and hundreds of people from the city and country make the trek for a visit.  This year eight farms took part.  

Our first stop was Coyote Run Farm the home of Patrick Standley and Matt Russell. From music to a mobile chicken house and veggies to how to plant garlic it was another...adventure.

 

Thanks for coming by!

You can connect with us by leaving a comment here or let's get together on our Twitter Stream @RuralLifeRadio and our communication agency Facebook Page is right here.

Buying Local Food - A Trend

This week NASDA the National Association of State Directors of Agriculture is in Des Moines.  Our own Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey is the president of the association and gets to play host. It's a great time to show off the diversity of production in the Hawkeye State.  We hope you've had a fantastic time in Des Moines and Central Iowa. We know your schedule has been busy.  On Saturday you get to experience an amazing Farmer's Market in Downtown Des Moines.  

At one time the only place you could purchase "fresh from the farm" food was from from the old "road-side stand" that so many of us remember, and still populate in parts of the country.  However, the trend of buying "fresh" and "local" led to the revival of the Farmer's Market (we have 8 in the Des Moines Metro) that takes thousands of shoppers out of the grocery stores and into the streets.

For some retail centers that was too much to lose and those companies who were in tune with the trend countered by increasing their inventory of "fresh/local" food.  Now the marketing opportunity to highlight those farms and the people behind them becomes important.  

Here's an example from our friends at HyVee.  This sign talks about a farm Lopata Farm/Garden in Northeast Iowa. Last year these signs started popping up in select stores as, what we think, was a test to see if there was a following.  This year the signs have multiplied as the retail centers attempt to connect with consumers and their local demand.

While it's been a trend for a very long time this effort helps connect the consumer with the grower and, as our nation becomes even further removed from agriculture, seems like a good step forward.

What examples of connecting urban with rural have you seen in your cities?  We'd like to see!

You can follow our comments and connect with us @RuralLifeRadio or here is our advertising/communications Facebook page.  Thanks for coming by! - Michael Libbie

 

Communication & Agriculture

During the month August there are three huge opportunities to learn and teach for connected farmers and ranchers who want to reach out to others in agriculture and those who may have no idea about where their food comes from.

American Agricultural Editors Association

Each year the AAEA brings together some of the best minds for a three day learning session.  This year we'll gather in Albuquerque to better hone our craft.  From trade show meetings to learning better photography skills members will learn new and exciting methods as we reach out to growers and the general public.  

State of Now - Agriculture Iowa

On August 17 at Iowa State University farmers, ranchers and growers of all kinds have the opportunity to spend a day learning about how to connect, market and share information by using Twitter.  Deb Brown the organizer for the 140 Character Conference has assembled a great group, including farmers, who will present solid ideas to get you going and keep you on track.  The State of Now - Agriculture Iowa will take place in the Scheman Building.  Here is the link to get you started.

The Iowa State Fair

Imagine the possibilities when rural and urban folks get together for this eleven day celebration of Iowa. From video to blogs to Tweets the Iowa State Fair offers those of us committed to agriculture a rare opportunity to impact people with our story. For those of you using Twitter it's #IowaStateFair and @IowaStateFair is the Twitter "handle" where Emily will answer your questions and take your comments.

We'll be at them all and look forward to seeing you...

If you want to leave a comment here, feel free.  Or you can join us on Twitter @RuralLifeRadio or @InsightADV and here is our Advertising Agency Facebook Page.

Of Food & Film

Two interesting stories to share with you.  In the first I had a meeting with the chairperson of the Iowa House Agricultural Committee, Annette Sweeney, who I took to task last year over the "Farm FIlming Bill" she authored.  In short it would have made it a felony to get a job at an Iowa Farm and then take secret video of the operation including animal agriculture.  Here is that post.  And, here is the post from  the Insight on Business News Hour.  (Sorry about the tin foil hat....)

My argument, which caused some in the ag community to doubt my judgement, was it was a bad bill that would give folks, who already have an agenda, to point to Iowa Agriculture and say, "See!  We told you they were doing horrible things and now they have put in place a law to cover up their crimes."  (I'm telling you...that would be the rally call.)  My proposal was to change the bill and make it a crime only IF the person filming what he/she considered to be abuse failed to, in a reasonable amount of time, turn the footage or photo over to law enforcement so they could follow up on the complaint.  After all, IF the point of the complaint is the protection and welfare of critters and humans shouldn't it run through the correct channels?

That's exactly what this bill now does.  Congratulations to Representative Sweeney for making those subtle changes.  Next?  (And, it was great catching up with you!)

Sustainable Local/Regional Farm Programs

I like this.  The Environmental Working Group for Agriculture recently posted this piece regarding the 2012 Farm Bill and, what they say, is a way to support small family farming operations that produce local/regional food.  It's worth a read and, judging from the overwhelming support "Buy Fresh/Buy Local" has had on consumers seems like a sound idea.  Your thoughts?

Thanks for coming by!  On Twitter it's @RuralLifeRadio or you can comment here. - Michael Libbie 

Tis The Season - Christmas Eve 2010

For weeks folks have been making lists, checking them twice...or in my case many more times.  "Hmmm...does she REALLY want that?"  It's a great time of the year and nothing beats the look and the feel of a Rural Christmas...

We got snow overnight here in Central Iowa.  Not a bunch...but enough to hide some of the brown spots that were poking through.  Remember last year?   What a difference.  Last year it started snowing on October 13th and it just stayed around.   FOREVER...

What's in the news?   Here is a sobering thought:  Over the past 40 years we've lost 800,000 farmers/ranchers.  Well, not "lost" exactly...but they're not farming or ranching any longer.  It's a story that points to the problems we'll face in coming years when it comes to agriculture and...policy.   Here is the full story from our friends at Southwest Farm Press. 

In a related story...more and more urban folks are turning to local food production.  Back when 40% of Americans lived on the farm not many people had to think or worry about where there food was coming from.  That's all changed today as more and more city folks are seeking food that comes from local farms.  It's a huge boost for those acreage and small farmers who see the value in sustainable production.  And...the trend is growing.  Here is the full story from our friends at Amber Waves. 

Good news for agricultural equipment manufacturers.  Last week the Association of Equipment Manufacturers released their annual business outlook and projected a 3.7% increase in business for 2011.  That's on top of 2.4% growth this year.  Here's the story from the folks at Industry Week.

Time's up...  Got lists to look at.  And it's Christmas Eve when our thoughts turn to family and friends, logs on the fire and the merriest of seasons.  Stay safe out there and from all of us down Highway 6...Merry Christmas.

 

 

Mike Rowe on Farming

Mike Rowe (Dirty Jobs and Ford Motor Company spokesman) gets around.  And he gets farming and agriculture.  Recently Rowe went to the FFA convention in Indianapolis and has this view on farming, where our food comes from and who farmers...are.  Go ahead, have a look at The Future of Farming it's well worth the time!

Moving to Urban Farming for a moment.  Officials in Kansas City are considering changes to their "Urban Farming Code".  Yes, they have one.  Among the changes being considered:  Signs, what can be sold, hours of operation and buildings.  As much of America moves toward more open urban farming Kansas City is...concerned about the "effect urban farming will have on neighborhoods.  Shaking your head yet? Here is the story from The Kansas City Star.

Cage free...eggs.  Hellman's Light Mayonnaiseis now made with cage free eggs and available at your local supermarket.  Hellman's says it plans to follow this practice for their entire line.  Here is the story from Supermarket News.

In case you didn't know 2009 was, "The worst year for dairy farmers since the Great Depression".   That according to Dairy Herd Management and The Daily News Online. Here is the story.

Thanks for coming by for a quick sweep of Rural Thoughts!

Michael P. Libbie - Acreage Owner and Advertising Guy  Follow me on Twitter @RuralLifeRadio

 

 

Highway 6 Radio - A Detour....

Thanks for a wonderful three years of listening in to Highway 6 - Your Road to the Country.  We've had hundreds of guests and even more stories over the time we were on the air at 98.3 WOW-FM (983wowfm) and it was great to be able to share with so many people my passion for all things rural. 

But, this month we had to pull the plug on he show.  We just could no longer subsidize our rural passion.

What most folks don't realize is that we were buying the time from 98.3 WOW-FM at a cost of $300 for each week's show.  That's $15,600 a year.  Our goal was to gather enough sponsors at $25 per ad to cover the cost of the show and the costs to write, produce and seek guests.  We never actually got over three sponsors at $400 a month and for the past seven months our only paying sponsor was our friends at Capital City Equipment the Kubota dealer in Des Moines and Ames.

We thought that because there are more folks living on small farms and acreges in the 70 mile radius of Des Moines than there are large farmers, it would be a great show to advertise on.  But either we didn't try hard enough to sell the program or folks didn't see the value of having over 3,000 people listening here in Central Iowa with hundreds of others from all across the country on the live stream.

In the end...It's...business.  And as much as that hurts...we had to pull the plug.

But our passion for rural remains and soon we'll ramp up another way to broadcast the stories about the people that make up so much of this country...and this state.  We're taking a detour.  In the meantime we'll be here on this blog talking about those important things regarding Rural Iowa and Rural America.  You can still reach us at @RuralLifeRadio on Twitter and our new Internet Radio Show - Insight on Business airs Monday - Friday starting at 12:30PM Central on www.MacsWorldLive.com and we've added some agriculture tidbits to that as well.

But...while we get to "move on" I want you to know how much I've been grateful to all of the listeners who took part in our show...you guys ROCK.

Michael Libbie - Host and Acreage Owner